Should Black Athletes Boycott SEC Schools?

Richard is joined by Joel Anderson, host of The Ringer Tailgate and The Press Box podcasts, for a conversation about the NAACP’s Out of Bounds campaign and the bigger question underneath it: What is fair to ask of Black college athletes and recruits at a moment when lawmakers and the courts are attacking Black voting power? They start with HBCUs and PWIs, move through the campaign’s specifics asks, and cover lots of topics from there: political education, NIL incentives, the transfer portal, the limits and power of boycotts, and why college football keeps becoming the platform for this kind of discussion. In this episode:* 0:00: The roles of HBCUs and PWIs in Black college life, and how generational experiences shape Richard’s and Joel’s views.* 12:01: The NAACP’s campaign and its asks of recruits, current athletes, fans, donors, and consumers.* 16:16: What is fair to expect of college athlete activism now* 26:55: Whether the idea of a “boycott” has lost force* 37:53: The role of the NAACP in 2026 Producer: Anthony VitoMore on the story covered in this episode: * NAACP press statement: Black athletes and fans should withhold support from public schools in states attacking Black voting rights* NAACP: Out of Bounds * CBS Sports on the NAACP campaignIf you like this episode, you’ll love a paid subscription. For $10 a month (or you can get a free month with an annual subscription), subscribers get about twice as many Split Zone Duo podcasts, as well as our coach carousel reporting, deep dives on college football history, Q&A opportunities, and many more goodies as we think of them. You also help keep this show independent and ensure we’re making a podcast that puts our listeners, not anyone else, first. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.splitzoneduo.com/subscribe